Quantum sensing using multiqubit quantum systems and the Pauli polytope

Quantum sensing has highly practical potential applications in fields ranging from fundamental physics and quantum communication to biophysics and bioengineering. However, achieving high fidelity and control of entangled qubits that enables sensing beyond the quantum limit is still a challenging endeavor. In this paper, we present an alternative approach to quantum sensing, which we call open-system quantum sensing, where we exploit a generalization of the Pauli exclusion principle to sense the openness of a multiqubit quantum system from only measurement of the qubit occupations. Qubit occupations of a pure state obey generalized Pauli exclusion constraints that define a convex set known as the Pauli polytope, and hence violation of one of these constraints—a facet of the polytope—reveals a mixed state from the interaction of a quantum system with its environment without performing full-state tomography. We examine experimental ultrafast spectroscopic data from the photosynthetic light-harvesting complex in green sulfur bacteria and show that we can sense and decode the relaxation of the complex due to environmental noise. More generally, we can apply open-system quantum sensing with any general multiqubit quantum system, where it provides a unique, visual approach that promises enhanced sensitivity and fidelity.